DISTRICT DIVERSITY: Minority Teachers Wanted

More than 30,000 students returned to the classroom in Des Moines Thursday. This year, more than half of the district’s population is composed of minority students.

In order to meet their needs, the district is launching a new initiative.

It’s teaming up with Drake University and Des Moines Area Community College to hire more minority teachers and administrators.

Des Moines Public School District’s Phil Roeder says, “It`s really not about changing how things have been done in the past, but bringing in a new pool of potential educators into the mix to have opportunities here in Des Moines.”

It’s called the 3D coalition.

The goal is to recruit minority college students and help educate them to become teachers. In return, when those students graduate they are required to teach in the district for the same length of time they received support from the coalition.